Psalm 126 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 126.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/126/1/s_604001

Meditate on verse 3.

The LORD has done great things

 for us; we are glad.

Can you imagine the psalmist’s face as he joyfully sang this Song of Ascents? Rescue from the dwelling place of lying warmongers was merely a dream, until he looked up to the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 120; 121). Then, the miraculous hand of God took him back to Zion, to the mountain of God, to the place where His temple stood (Psalm 122; 123). And the psalmist rejoiced with others whom God had rescued; they rejoiced with laughter and shouting, telling about the great things the LORD had done.

If you are a Christian, this is your Song of Ascents, too. You were trapped in sin, without peace, steeped in the lies of the world. Then you looked up to the Maker of heaven and earth, the Maker of your soul, and He rescued and restored you from captivity to sin. Praise the LORD!

Pray Psalm 126 as a joyful, faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, when You broughtback __________ and me to You,

 we were like those who dream.  Let our mouths be filled

with laughter and our tongues with joyful shouting. 

Let it be said of us, ‘The LORD has done great things for them.’

LORD, You have done great things for us; we are glad!

Restore us from all captivity, O LORD, as water in the streams.

Let those who sow in tears reap with joyful shouting. 

Let those who go to and fro weeping, carrying their bag of seed,

indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing their sheaves with them.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 125 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 125.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/125/1/s_603001

Meditate on verse 2.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds His people

 from this time forth and forever.

What a sharp contrast to go from being surrounded by angry people wanting to devour you to being surrounded by the LORD! Can you imagine how glad the psalmist was to have God all around him, so his enemies could not hurt him?

Bask in the security of knowing God surrounds His people. Resolve to be His righteous one who unwaveringly trusts in Him.

Pray Psalm 125 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, may ________ and I be those who trust in You. 

Make us like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved. 

We will abide forever in You. 

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, LORD,

please surround us, Your people, from this time forth and forever.

  Do not let the scepter of wickedness rest upon our land. 

Keep us as Your righteous ones;

do not let us put forth our hands to do wrong.

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good

 and to those who are upright in their hearts.

Please make us good and upright.

But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways, LORD,

You will lead them away with the doers of iniquity. 

Do not let us turn aside to crooked ways;

 keep us from the doers of iniquity. 

Peace be upon Israel, and peace be upon us.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 124 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 124.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/124/1/s_602001

Meditate on verses 2-3a.

Had it not been the LORD who was on our side

when men rose up against us,

 then they would have swallowed us alive.

Angry people surrounded the psalmist, wanting to devour him, but God saved him.  What a relief when the LORD provides a way of escape!  Keep in mind the steps leading up to the rescue:

1.     Cry out to God for deliverance (Psalm 120)

2.     Look to God for help (Psalm 121)

3.     Go to the LORD’s house (Psalm 122)

4.     Fix your eyes on the hand of the LORD as a faithful servant (Psalm 123)

5.     Recognize God’s deliverance (Psalm 124)

Thinking about these first five steps of the Ascension Psalms, be obedient to what God tells you to do to rise up from low places in your life.  Pray Psalm 124 in thanksgiving for what God is doing in your life and the lives of those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, if You had not been on our side

when men rose up against _________ and me,

then they would have swallowed us alive,

when their anger was kindled against us.

The waters would have engulfed us;

the stream would have swept over our soul;

then the raging waters would

have swept over our soul.

Blessed are You, LORD, who has not

 given us to be torn by their teeth. 

Our soul has escaped as a bird

out of the snare of the trapper;

the snare is broken, and we have escaped. 

Our help is in Your name, LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 123 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 123.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/123/1/s_601001

Meditate on this phrase from verse 2.

Our eyes look to the LORD our God

until He is gracious to us.

The psalmist left the dwelling place of liars and went to the house of the LORD; there he regained his focus (Psalm 120, 122, 123). Instead of lifting his eyes to the mountains, he lifted his eyes to God, focusing on Him (Psalm 121:1; 123:1-2).

It is easy to lose focus when troubles swirl around you and those you love. Satan wants you fixated on problems, worrying and fretting. This psalm tells you how to not look at your circumstances and focus on God—you do it as His servant. A faithful servant keeps their eyes on the master, watching the master’s hands (v. 2). With a simple gesture, the servant obeys the master’s bidding, knowing that from those same hands come what the servant needs to live for the sake of the master.

Fixing your eyes on Jesus, pray Psalm 123 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, to You I lift up my eyes. 

O You, who are enthroned in the heavens!

Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid

 to the hand of her mistress,

 so _________ and my eyes look

 to You, LORD our God,

 until You are gracious to us.

 Be gracious to us, O LORD,

be gracious to us, for we are greatly

filled with contempt.

 Our soul is greatly filled with

the scoffing of those who are at ease,

 and with the contempt of the proud.

Help us LORD, in Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 122 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 122.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/122/1/s_600001

Meditate on verse 1.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us

 go to the house of the LORD.”

Can you imagine how thankful the psalmist was when someone invited him to go to church?  Here he was, living among a bunch of liars (Psalm 120), looking up to the LORD for some help (Psalm 121), when suddenly, somebody said, “Let’s go to the house of the LORD” (v. 1).  How relieved he must have been to get away from those who hated him and go to a place of peace!

You probably know somebody right now whom you could invite to church or to your home, so they can have a moment of peace. Don’t hesitate to reach out to them, because like the psalmist, they will be glad that you did.

Pray Psalm 122:1, 4, and 6-9 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, I love going to Your house! 

Let _________ be glad when I say to them,

 ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’

 We give thanks to Your name, LORD.

Please bring peace to Jerusalem

and peace to _________ and me.

Please let us prosper. 

Let peace be within our walls

 and prosperity within our homes. 

For the sake of our brothers and our friends,

 please give us Your peace, LORD.

We seek good for the sake

 of Your house, LORD our God.

In Your name, Jesus.”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 121 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 121.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/121/1/s_599001

Meditate on verse 2.

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 120 said the LORD answered the troubled psalmist when he cried for help (Psalm 120:1).  What was His answer?  Psalm 121 is God’s answer when all you can see is trouble.  Hear the LORD say:

“Look up!  Look at the mountains.

 Your help will not come from there.

Look up at Me, the LORD!

 I made heaven and earth. 

I will not allow your foot to slip;

I will keep you because I never slumber.

 I never slumber or sleep.

 I keep Israel, and I will keep you.

 I AM the LORD, and I AM your keeper. 

I AM the LORD, and I AM your shade on your right hand. 

The sun will not smite you by day

nor the moon by night. 

I AM the LORD, and I will protect you from all evil;

I will keep your soul.

 I AM the LORD,

 and I will guard your going out

 and your coming in

from this time forth and forever.”

Whew—what a relief!  God is in control!  Look up and pray Psalm 121 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, ____________ and I need help! 

We lift our eyes to You!

LORD, You made heaven and earth,

 and our help comes from You.

Please do not allow our feet to slip. 

Please keep us.  You do not slumber or sleep.

 LORD, You are our keeper. 

You are the shade on our right hand.

 Do not let the sun smite us by day

 nor the moon by night. 

LORD, please protect us from all evil

 and keep our souls.

 LORD, guard our going out

 and our coming in

from this time forth and forever.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell

Psalm 120 - Praying God's Word

Please read Psalm 120.

www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/psa/120/1/s_598001

Meditate on verse 1.

In my trouble I cried to the LORD,

 and He answered me.

Psalms 120-134 are all titled “A Song of Ascents.” These fifteen psalms will take you on a 15-day journey to a higher place.

The journey begins in such a low place there is nowhere to go but up (v. 1). The psalmist is not only in trouble, he is in anguish because he lives among liars who hate peace. When he tries to talk to these lying warmongers, it only makes matters worse (v 7). So, in his distress, the psalmist cries to the LORD, and the God of peace answers him (v. 1).

Have you ever been in a similar situation? Perhaps you are there now, dwelling with people who enjoy the fight and will even tell lies to start a war. Cry out to God—tell Him everything that is happening to you or someone you love. Then look up—Psalm 121 is coming; it will take you on the next step to a higher place.

Pray Psalm 120:1-2 over yourself and those for whom you stand guard as a faithful, prayerful watchman (Isaiah 62:6-7).

“LORD, __________ and I are in trouble,

and we are crying to You.  Please answer us!

Deliver our souls, O LORD, from _______________.

In Your name, Jesus~”

The WATCHMAN on the WALL, 3 – Dr. Ron and Marsha Harvell